The first identical twin puppies have been born and OMG we are dead
South Africa’s Rant en Dal Animal Hospital recently delivered a litter of Irish wolfhounds, and two happen to have the same genetic makeup. The fact that they’re puppies immediately makes them cute. But, uh — identical twin puppies? Even better.
Veterinarian Kurt de Cramer was performing a C-section on the mother hound, when he realized that two of the puppies were attached to the same placenta. In total, seven puppies were successfully delivered, but only these two were marked as being identical.
A dog has given birth to the first identical twin puppies https://t.co/KQswvWOc0k pic.twitter.com/a7L3ACV2nd
— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) August 31, 2016
De Cramer, who has performed several C-sections on dogs before, noticed that there was a strange bulging from the mother’s uterus that was unlike any other pregnant pup he’s seen before. The twins were delivered first, followed by the rest of the gang.
“When I realized that the puppies were of the same gender and that they had very similar markings, I also immediately suspected that they might be identical twins having originated from the splitting of an embryo,” de Cramer said to the BBC.
While the puppies look very similar, they do have a few different markings, which made others think that they might not be identical after all. It turns out that since genes express themselves differently, it’s definitely common. Still, the veterinarians decided to test the DNA of the puppies when they reached six weeks of age. While identical twin pups have likely been born before, this is the first time it’s been scientifically noted, with the puppies both surviving and thriving — and it’s all thanks to the fact that a C-section was performed.
We hope these two twin puppies have an incredible upbringing — and hey, if anyone who knows these pups wants to share a ton of photos, we’ll definitely be happy to see them!
